The Pimm's cup is a cocktail that is popular in England, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is one of numerous

fruit cup A fruit cup, also known as a summer cup, is traditionally an English speciality drink designed to be made into a long drink with addition of a soft drink such as lemonade or ginger ale. Most commonly, these are gin-based, although there are s ...

s, a type of cocktail with gin, a soft drink, and fruit. Its primary spirit is Pimm's No. 1 Cup, a

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...

-based beverage flavored with fruits and spices invented around 1823 as a health drink. The Pimm's cup is the official cocktail of many summer events in England, including the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

, the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

and the

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

. For the last 50 years the drink has been associated with

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

Preparation

A summer long drink, the Pimm's cup is made with Pimm's No. 1 Cup, an English-style (clear and carbonated) lemonade, like Sprite or 7 Up, lemon or lime juice, as well as various chopped garnishes, particularly

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

, orange, lemon,

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

and

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...

or borage, though mint is more common. Ginger ale or ginger beer is used as a common substitute for lemonade. All liquid ingredients are added to a highball glass with ice, followed by garnishes.

Variations

Pimm's can also be mixed with Champagne (or other sparkling white wines), resulting in a drink known as a "Pimm's royal cup". Pimm's winter cup is generally mixed with warm apple juice. A "Glasgow Garden Party" is a drink made with Pimm's substituting lemonade with Irn Bru excluding any fruit garnish. A "Pimmlet" is a

gimlet Gimlet may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Gimlet Media, a media network that produces journalistic and narrative podcasts * Gimlet (Transformers), a fictional character * Captain Lorrington "Gimlet" King, a fictional character in a s ...

with Pimm's No.1 substituted for gin. A Pimm's mojito substitutes lemon and lime soda with muddled

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

s and

soda water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

History

The base liqueur of a Pimm's cup, Pimm's, was created sometime after 1823, when

James Pimm James Pimm (1798–1866) was a British food proprietor who created the gin-based liqueur known as Pimm's. Pimm was born and raised in Newnham, Kent as the son of James Norris Pimm, a tenant farmer, and his wife Susannah. He was classica ...

opened an oyster bar and began serving spirit-based punches and cups. Pimm received his first liquor license in 1851, and leased or sold the bar to S. D. Morey in 1856; it changed hands several times afterward. At one point, Pimm, one of his employees, or one of his successors created the first Pimm's liqueur, designed to be mixed with lemonade, and which was trademarked and commercially released in 1912. The cocktail was introduced to the United States in the late 1940s, where it became popular in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

References

External links

* {{Cocktails Cocktails with gin Cocktails with Champagne Cocktails with lemon-lime soda Cocktails with ginger beer Cocktails with lemon juice Cocktails with lime juice

Preparation

Variations

History

See also

References

External links